Rice cultivation and processing: Highlights from a life cycle thinking perspective.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Environmental Science
• Environmental Engineering

Background:

• The agri-food sector is a significant consumer of water and energy, and a contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• Rice production, a key component of the agri-food sector, has a substantial environmental footprint.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a critical tool for evaluating the environmental impacts of products and processes, including rice cultivation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the application of LCA in rice production studies.
• To identify common practices, limitations, and areas for improvement in rice LCA.
• To assess the scope of environmental and socioeconomic factors considered in rice production LCAs.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted on Scopus® to gather relevant rice LCA studies.
• A total of 76 papers published up to the end of 2022 were examined.
• Studies were analyzed for their scope, inputs, methodologies, and identified environmental impacts.

Main Results:

• Most rice LCA studies evaluate environmental impacts and identify areas for improvement.
• Significant discrepancies exist in the inputs, multifunctionality, emissions estimation, and functional units used, complicating result comparisons.
• Key environmental aspects like biodiversity loss and soil organic carbon/fertility changes are often inadequately modeled or omitted.
• Economic consequences were evaluated in only 13 studies, and biodiversity impacts in just 4, indicating a limited focus on socioeconomic aspects and certain environmental effects.

Conclusions:

• While LCA is increasingly used for rice production, methodological inconsistencies limit comparability.
• There is a need for standardized approaches in rice LCA, particularly for incorporating biodiversity and soil health.
• Future research should broaden the scope to include socioeconomic impacts and refine the modeling of complex environmental factors in rice cultivation.